Hamas ♥s Human Shields

After a three-day truce ended Friday morning Israel time, these Islamofascist murderers swiftly reverted to their Jew-killing ways. Evidently, those 72 hours of relative peace left them miserable. So, yet again, they hit first. Never mind that Israel had withdrawn its soldiers from Gaza.

"More than 20 rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip," the Washington Postreported. "Two were intercepted over the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, and several fell short and landed in Gaza." No doubt, Israel will be blamed for any carnage resulting from Hamas killers who missed their targets and blasted the very Palestinians whom they supposedly represent.

The Investigative Project on Terrorism this morning circulated a highly instructive news story on this situation. In this August 7 report, France 24's splendidly named Gallagher Fenwick ducks for cover on the night of August 5. While he broadcasts from Gaza on live TV, a Hamas rocket loudly roars overhead and races toward Israel.

Later, in broad daylight, Fenwick investigates and finds rocket launchers installed in the middle of a densely populated residential area, just 325 feet or so from a United Nations facility, complete with a light-blue flag flapping smartly on its roof. This spot is also about 165 feet from a hotel that has housed many international journalists covering Operation Protective Edge.

As Fenwick observes: "The Israeli army has repeatedly accused Palestinian militants of shooting from within densely populated civilian areas, and that is precisely the type of setup we have right here — rockets set up right next to buildings with a lot of residents."

France 24's footage parallels that of India's NDTV network. Its correspondent and camera crew caught suspected Hamas terrorists hiding beneath a tent and assembling a launch pad on August 4. Early the next morning, also on tape, these Islamic extremists fire a missile into Israel.

"This report is being aired on NDTV and published on ndtv.com after our team left the Gaza strip. Hamas has not taken very kindly to any reporting of its rockets being fired," correspondent Sreenivasan Jain explains on the network's website. "But just as we reported the devastating consequences of Israel's offensive on Gaza's civilians, it is equally important to report on how Hamas places those very civilians at risk by firing rockets deep from the heart of civilian zones."

Those who doubt these French and Indian news reports should consult Hamas itself. The Israel Defense Forces announced on August 4 that it discovered a Hamas training manual in Gaza. This booklet confirms that human shields are central to this terrorist group's strategy.

Source: Israel Defense Forces.

Introduction to Urban Warfare is authored by "The preparation and training unit – Al-Shuja'iyya Brigade," a division of Hamas. (These translations from the trusted IDF were verified by two of my Arabic-speaking sources.)

The manual's cover bears this delightful quote from Koran 8:60: "And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy."

As Hamas's document indicates:

The soldiers and commanders [of the IDF] must limit their use of weapons and tactics that lead to the harm and unnecessary loss of people and [destruction of] civilian facilities. It is difficult for them to get the most use out of their firearms, especially of supporting fire [e.g. artillery].

The manual continues:

The presence of civilians creates many pockets of resistance against the advancing forces, and that creates difficulties such as:

(1) Problems with opening fire
(2) Problems in controlling the civilian population during operations and afterward
(3) Assurance of supplying medical care to civilians who need it

Finally, it states:

The destruction of civilian homes: This increases the hatred of the citizens towards the attackers [the IDF] and increases their gathering [support] around the city defenders…[i.e. Hamas]

Thus, Hamas members know perfectly well that trapping civilians between themselves and the IDF will lead Israel to hold its fire, aim longer, and spend precious time deploying leaflets, phone calls, and even text messages to urge Gazans to flee incoming Israeli retaliatory strikes.

When the IDF finally unleashes its formidable firepower, human shields lead to human carnage. At that point, Hamas wheels in largely sympathetic journalists who share with the world the depressing images of bloodied, mangled, and dead children — all victims of heartless Jews and their disproportionate force.

Rinse.

Repeat.

Introduction to Urban Warfare confirms that this mayhem is not the work of over-eager freelance terrorists, but simply Hamas doctrine.

Now, has Hamas ever called ahead before lighting any of the roughly 3,000 rockets that it has hurled at Israel in this conflict or the 15,425 that it has lobbed since 2010?

This second figure is from IsraelHasBeenRocketFreeFor.com. This fascinating website has tallied Hamas's missiles upon launch. Whenever a new one erupts, an alarm sounds, the computer screen turns red, the total rises, and the website's clock resets until the next rocket rushes towards Israel. As I researched and wrote this piece this afternoon, software designer Aaron Friedman's creation counted seven such rockets leaving Gaza, bound for Israel. Several launches were less than a minute apart.

If you would like to help Israel defend itself against these militant-Islamic scum — who are the ideological brethren of al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, and ISIS — please take these steps:

Sign the petition at StopHamasNow.com. Add your voice to those who call on Western leaders to stand with Israel and stomp fatally on Hamas, as the giant cockroach that it is.

Donate to Friends of the Israel Defense Forces. This group is a rough analog to America's USO and Wounded Warriors Project. FIDF attends to the needs of active-duty, retired, and disabled Israeli soldiers and their families.

Support the America-Israel Friendship League. AIFL introduces delegations of U.S. visitors to Israel and vice versa. AIFL arranged my first-ever trip to Israel in June 2013, along with a dozen or so fellow journalists. AIFL's amiable staff advocates on Israel's behalf, provides helpful and timely information about conditions there, and otherwise warm U.S.-Israeli relations.

Finally, if your loved ones, colleagues, and contacts still don't get it on Israel, Hamas, and Gaza, ask them to consider the words of Eli Wiesel. The winner of the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize survived Auschwitz and has spoken eloquently for decades against hatred and injustice. In a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal, sponsored by This World: The Values Network, Wiesel wrote:

What we are suffering through today is not a battle of Jew versus Arab or Israeli versus Palestinian. Rather, it is a battle between those who celebrate life and those who champion death. It is a battle of civilization versus barbarism.

Comment on this item

Name (optional)

Email Address

Title of Comments

Comments:

Email me if someone replies to my comment

Note: IPT will moderate reader comments. We reserve the right to edit or remove any comment we determine to be inappropriate. This includes, but is not limited to, comments that include swearing, name calling, or offensive language involving race, religion or ethnicity. All comments must include an email address for verification.